User blog:Moon Snail/Top 10 ways to make Mario games original again! (Mostly the NSMB series)
MArio. One of the most notable characters around! He's been running for almost a good 30 years! But... As you may expect, this long-runner isn't going too good anymore. Let's take four recent Mario titles: New Super Mario Bros. U Super Mario 3D World Mario Kart 8 NSMB2 Notice something? They're all too similar to their predecessors. NSMBU is basically NSMBW with the Tanooki Leaf and a new powerup. NSMB2 is NSMBw... but with COINS! SM3Dw is basically SM3DL with more characters, levels, and a new powerup. Mario Kart 8 is the worst offender. There is very, VERY little difference between MK8 and MK7. Not counting powerups, stages, parts and characters, we have a whopping ONE new feature/change from MK7. Anti-gravity is just regualr driving, but on walls. Also, It isn't even original. MKDS did it first! If the Anti-gravity and powerups were removed, you'd see it the same way I do. Before this becomes a Mario Kart 8 rant, time to get to the main point: Top 10 ways to make Mario original again! 10. Make Yoshi playable on his own! Not counting spinoffs and Yoshi's island and sequels, We haven't been able to play as Yoshi by himself since SM64DS. Why not? Couldn't you imagine seeing yoshi gulping down Goombas and fluttering above hazards, but without that fat plumber putting pressure on his back? That would be cool, right? 9. More environments! Every NSMB game has been this: Grass --> Desert --> Beach/Snow --> Jungle/Beach --> Snow/Jungle --> Cliff --> Cloud --> Volcanic There's also SM3DW's blandly-colored world that you see I think three times. Why not add more? We could get something like this: Grass --> Beach --> Desert --> Cliff --> Snow --> Underwater --> Jungle --> Cavern --> City --> Cloud --> Inside something --> Volcanic --> Shadowish world That'd be a good change of pace. It'd also increase the game's length. 8. Make the games harder before the special world If you weren't going for star coins, you'd notice the games are hilariously easy. NSMB is a cakewalk, since it does not have a special world. NSMBW, the only problem you'd run into is ONE level in World 8. NSMB2, GOLD FLOWER, BREAKS, EVERYTHING! Can't say much about NSMBU, since I never played it. I know a number of ways to make the game harder: *More hard-to-kill enemies, or place already hard-to-kill enemies more often. *Less broken items (Propeller, Gold Flower, Blue Shell) *BUFF THE SLEDGE BRO. That guy is easier than the Hammer Bro. Either give him a faster recovery time after ground-pounding, or make him throw better. *Make progressing through the game require Star Coins (This is one thing SM3DW did right. Some levels needed green stars.) *NO MORE LIFE GRINDING! Every NSMB game had one way to get tons of lives early in the game. This made the game a walk in the park, even if you trip plenty of times. Make the players put EFFORT into gaining 1-ups. I'm not saying make the game Kaizo-hard. Putting in stuff like "Fire Flower no longer adds a second hit point" would make the game furiating to literally impossible. I just want an increase in difficulty. "Mario isn't meant to be hard!" It's not meant to hold your hand throughout the entire freakin' game either. 7. For Mario Kart, add more gimmicks! "You said that MK8 failed in this aspect!" Yes I did. But Anti-gravity isn't the last gimmick they can add. Here's a list of ideas that I don't recall other Mario Kart games doing: *Jump pads (Touching them makes you bounce into the air.) *Portals *Blue Coins (Collecting them gives you three coins instead of one) *Surfing Oh, and BRING BACK DOUBLE DASH MODE! Everyone loved Double Dash! People would welcome Online Double Dash with open arms. (I know I would.) 6. Add a new villain! This is easily the least likely of the entire list, but.. What if one time, you were battling bowser, then you pushed the switch, and finally beat him! But... He jumps out of the pit and tells you he's not the one behind the plan. He then leads you to the final world, where the true final boss awaits. If Bowser wasn't the villain, I'd expect this would be how it went... then they'd make Dark bowser the main villain or something like that. There is a problem with this idea, I'll admit. I can fix that: 5. Stop... with the... Suprise final bosses... Fun Fact: Suprise final boss is my LEAST favorite video game cliche. And in every NSMB game aside from the first, there is one. Nowadays, it's downright predictable! Can we do away with this garbage? Please? 4. For mario kart, add new modes! The only modes are Racing, Ballon Battle and Coin Runners. There should really be more. Here's soke ideas I made: Ring Rush: Knock all opponents out of the ring to win. Power to the Painters: Drive around and hit others with items to paint the field with your color. If you have the most color by the end of the game, you win! King of the Hill: Five people play one room. They each take their time trial race. Whoever has the highest time gets to "keep" the track. If someone beats their time, they get the track. Whoever has the track by the end of the round wins. That'd put more replay value into the game. Speaking of which... 3. Add replay value! The one defining factor for games for me, the one single thing that makes or breaks a game for me: Replay Value. I don't spend money on a game I'll put down after I win. Mario games rarely have anything new after you beat them. I can't think of anything for this problem, but there are definitely plenty of ways. 2. More boss variety! The first NSMB did this right. That's why it's my favorite of the four NSMB games. All the bosses except for the first world 8 castle are very different from each other. Everything afterwards? Just the Koopalings, Boom Boom, and the occasional Bowser Jr. Is it THAT hard to think of a creative boss? It could be anything. I would take ANY new boss idea over the ones you see in the three new NSMB games. Heck, I'd take a pack of 8 zero-effort bosses if that's the best you could think of! What is number one? Very simple, actually... 1. Make a new idea. This is the best way to make an original mario game. Instead of Super Mario Bros., or Mario Kart, Party, sports, whatever, why not make a new series? i'm not saying as in, take an old series and add a huge defining new element, I mean as in, a new series all together. Now, it doesen't just have to be an all-new series that nobody else has ever done, I'll take a new genre. I would take a Mario shooter game. I'd take a Mario Tower defense game. Hell, I'd take a Mario idle game. It's not hard. All they'd have to do is make a new series, and I'd gain more hope for Mario. This has been Moon Snail, and this has been a blog! I'm out! Category:Blog posts Category:Mario Category:Top 10 Lists